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USPTO Schedules Roundtable on Software Business Method Patents

July 24, 2000

Press Release
#00-44

CONTACT: Brigid Quinn 703-305-8341

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is holding a roundtable meeting on Thursday, July 27, 2000, to discuss the history and present practices relating to computer-implemented business method patents and to identify ways to improve USPTO's current examination approach to these applications. Jim Crowne, of Bloomberg BNA's Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Journal, will moderate the roundtable. The list of roundtable participants is attached to this advisory.

The roundtable is part of the business method patent initiative announced by the agency on March 29, 2000 (http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/speeches/00-22.htm). The initiative has two major components: industry outreach and quality initiatives. The industry outreach programs include customer partnerships with industry, the July 27 roundtable, and industry feedback on issues relating to prior art. The quality programs encompass steps to enhance the technical training of examiners, revise the examination guidelines and examples, and expand current prior art search activities. A white paper outlining the history and current UPSTO practices concerning software-related business method patents is available at http://www.uspto.gov/web/menu/busmethp/index.html .